Holding it All Together
by Tinkerbe11
Summary: AU story. SLASH DMHP. Draco and Harry are best friends in London, Draco, being his foolish self, made a bet against one of his friends and needs Harry to pose as his boyfriend, WIP
1. Chapter 1: Holding It All Together

Chapter 1: Holding it All Together

Warning: M/M 

Disclaimer: HP is not mine.

It was somewhat unexpected, what Draco asked him. You could even say it took Harry by surprise. The boiling white mocha hot chocolate tumbled down his throat and caught causing him to choke violently. Yes, undeniably you could say it took Harry by surprise.

Harry had unknowingly only considered their outing just another routine coffee run, which Draco dragged him along to all the time. Though instead of ordering and leaving, Draco insisted that they sit down and chat.

"You and I have become to distant lately," Harry remembered him saying, and without a second thought he nodded, agreeing of course.

They sat down, Harry with his white mocha, and Draco with his extra-dark coffee. A perfect example of their two extremes, two opposites. Harry supposed that was what made their lives interesting, what appealed about their twisted and strange friendship.

Draco had started off their conversation in his usual, friendly manner.

"So when are you going to get off your ass and get a job?" He was slouched back comfortably in his chair, an arm slung around the back. Draco sipped at his drink every so often with what Harry thought was a quite annoying slurping sound.

"I have no idea." His mouth turned into a frown, fingers playing at the edge of the coffee cup and he looked like he would've wanted to stumble into the burning drink itself. It had always bothered Harry when Draco would talk about his own work, his amazing, enjoyable business, while Harry was stuck with nothing but his threadbare apartment.

The discussion broke around there, and Harry realized exactly how distant they had become at the awkward silence that seemed to have happily settled around them. Draco's gray eyes had flitted from looking Harry in the face, to look at his steaming mug. After a few anxious moments, Harry found Draco to be looking at him, very determinedly.

"There was actually a reason I brought you here, Harry." His voice was silent and it was fairly evident he was a bit edgy.

"Oh thank god, I think my hot chocolate was beginning to grow mold," said Harry, a teasing smile playing over his face.

"Sarcasm, Potter, will get you nowhere." Draco seemed to have gained at least a bit of confidence after Harry's playful remark; the regal air he so often wore was unmistakable. He picked up his cup with a fair-skinned hand, only with his fingertips though, and drank from it.

"So what is this so-called important reason you brought me here for?" Harry's own hands were beginning to get a bit warm against the hot plastic, which was a rare thing to happen during this cold of a winter.

"In due time, Potter. You're patience was never something to brag about was it?" Potter was always the name Draco used in referral to Harry when he was in an especially joking mood. Draco only used Harry to address him when he was feeling particularly sober.

"I've been sitting here in utter silence for nearly the past ten minutes," He grabbed the end of his brown suede coat, pulling it up to glance at his watch. "Excuse me, eleven minutes." Harry corrected himself, pulling his jacket back down, the brief exposure already giving him chills.

 "I would like to know what's going on." He stated simply. 

Draco started to look tense and apprehensive again. His left hand began to itch its mate, and Harry knew something was up. Draco only did that when he was incredibly nervous.

"Draco," questioned Harry. "What's going on?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion. He was always intolerant for Draco's silly games.

"Let me tell you a story Harry." Draco took another swig and slammed it back down on the table with a short "Ah." He wiped his sleeve across his moderately wet lips.

Harry folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "It better be a good one." He sent Draco a glower.

"Well…you see…" Draco began to scratch again. Harry had to resist the urge to slap the bridge of Draco's hand. 

"We're having a New Years party at the café, you know…" 

"Oh well, the conversation stops right here," said Harry roughly and angrily and moved to pick up the shoulder bag he had sitting on the ground. 

"I can stomach coming and drinking coffee with you Malfoy, but if you only brought me here to brag about you're precious café and you're most lovely employee Ally, then I think I'd better be leaving." 

He picked up his cup swiftly in a tight grasp with one hand, and backed the seat away with a screeching noise. 

"Don't." Draco had a firm grip on the sleeve of his coat, looking at him with the most pitiable expression Harry had ever seen.

"I'm really desperate here Harry." He croaked. "Please." Harry was astonished to hear Draco's voice nearly crack.

"Of course," Harry agreed softly, taking pity on the forlorn creature pleading with him. He realized it was probably a clever ploy of Draco's, he had always been the actor, but Harry decided to stay for his friend. After all, it wasn't everyday that Draco pleaded.  

He pushed his chair back in.

"Oh heavens, can you stop that?" asked Draco, holding his hands to his ears protectively. "I'll go deaf before my ripe old age."

"Age is a state of mind." Harry reminded Draco, releasing his now slightly crushed mug of hot chocolate. "Anyway you were going to tell me a story." He leaned his hand to cup his chin and set his elbow on the table, sure for something gloriously long and flattering (flattering Draco, of course).

"I was?" Draco squeaked. "I mean, yes, I am…I mean, I was." 

Harry's quick reflexes grabbed at Draco's hand, stopping it mere inches from mauling the other one.

"You're having a New Years party…" He guided Draco, trying to make him feel comfortable again. He slowly released his friend's hand, letting him pull it in towards his chest protectively.

"Yes, well, no, I'm not, it wasn't my idea." He protested at Harry's choice of words.

"But you're attending it, I'm assuming?" Harry pulled his drink to his lips, loving the feel of the smooth liquid running over his tongue, swirling in his mouth. "Being the manager and everything."

"Yes…that asshole…can't believe…audacity to…." Harry's blonde companion began mumbling to himself, muttering curses while Harry only picked up syllables and words.

"Wait Draco, slow down. What on Earth are you talking about?" The steam from his mug started to fog Harry's glasses up, as he hadn't set it down yet. He looked startled, shook his head, and then set it down, rubbing at his lenses.

"Well…you remember Clayton don't you? Has awful spiky black hair, looks entirely inappropriate…" Draco was set off again, Harry stuck listening to what Draco hated most about Clayton.

"Of course I do, go on," urged Harry, not remembering the slightest whom Draco was talking about.

"Well see, all my co-workers…they're bringing people along, you know, spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends, friends." He began to fidget as he spoke.

"Expected." Harry said in a tired voice, trying to get Draco to delve into the point of his story.

"Yes well, you know how stupid I can be sometimes, right Harry?" Draco's voice shook.

"Clearly." Harry sipped again, trying not to take notice of Draco's unusual behavior.

"Yes well, Clayton bet me that I didn't have a date, boyfriend or girlfriend." Draco looked vulnerable again. Harry didn't like it.

"…And you did something stupid." Harry stated, un-amused.

"Yes well, you know how egotistical I can be sometimes, right Harry?" He nearly repeated himself.

"Déjà vu, Draco." Harry berated. "What did you do this time?" He asked with a sigh.

"Well I bet him right back, I told him I had the most stunningly attractive boyfriend in the world, and that he would see him at the New Years party, the most gorgeous thing Clayton would ever see."

"And you don't have a boyfriend…" Harry looked bored. He slurped some more liquid chocolate into his mouth. 

"Exactly. And you see…" Draco trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

"What, you want me to ask one of my friends to pretend to be your boyfriend?" Harry looked startlingly appalled, yet not surprised.

"No, not at all." His face turned into a frown of disgust, red hair and freckles popping into his mind. He stuck his tongue out in repulsion. 

"Then why get me involved? Am I suppose to make some sort of excuse to bail you out of this party, hmm?" 

Even if Harry did bail him out, he hoped Draco had learned a lesson. It was very juvenile of him to go off about a wonderful boyfriend when he wasn't even close to dating someone. It seemed like just the dense thing Draco would do.

" No I actually…kind of hoped that you would…come…" Draco's voice grew meek and cheeks flushed pink as he looked up to Harry's tapering eyes.

This was roughly around the time that Harry choked. Violently.

After he recovered he spoke. "Absolutely. No. Way." Harry's teeth gritted together, utterly horrified that Draco would even suggest such a thing.

"Harry, please, who do you think I would get to do it instead?" Draco's tone was laden with anger and hurt.

"I don't know. You got yourself into this mess, I'm not getting you out of it." Harry decided this was, in all probability, the best time to leave.

"Who should I ask Harry, Ron? Blaise?" 

Harry knew Draco was being sarcastic, yet couldn't help retorting.  "Ron would never do it, he despises you." He shrugged, "Yet in my opinion Blaise is really very cute, why don't you ask him?"

"Oh really Potter, next thing you know you'll be suggesting I take Crabbe or Goyle." He growled.

Harry sputtered. "Better them than me." Harry took the final chug of his drink, and slammed it down on the table, crushing it.

"Harry…" Draco started to say, looking at Harry unwaveringly. "You _have_ to do this for me."

"And why is that?" Harry challenged, scraping his chair pointedly across the floor once more. Draco recoiled.

"Because…because…" Draco stammered, looking down. He had to fight the desire to rub at his hand again.

Harry glared at his friend, knowing that Draco wouldn't be able to think of a good reason for him to come. 

"Look Draco, you're right, we _have_ become distant." Draco swore he could see his friend's nostrils flaring.

"…And that means that I just can't go around doing intimate favors for you like this." Harry's voice had risen during his time speaking, and people in the shop started to give him odd, petrified looks.

Draco stood up to hiss at Harry. "Harry, keep you're voice down." He felt his cheeks get warm. Only god knows what people had thought about that last line. 'Intimate favors', honestly.

"No, you're going to listen to me." His voice was hard. 

"Why are you over reacting like this Harry?" Draco hollered. "It isn't that big of a deal anyway, and you're my friend so it wouldn't be uncomfortable or awkward…" 

Draco patiently watched Harry's silent reaction and continued.

"The only reason it would be distressing is if you actually liked me…in that way." Draco reasoned knowing Harry would crack under his accusations.

  
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was covered by a hand, red and irritated from scratching.

"Shh." He commanded. "I know you don't Harry." Draco's voice was calm while whispering to Harry. "We don't even have to do anything you don't want to." Draco eyes begged Harry.

  
Harry swatted Draco's hand away from his face, a thoughtful look upon him.

"I guess I should be flattered…" The statement drew Draco's mouth into a smile. Harry smiled gently back.

"…That you were going on about some, amazing, gorgeous, god-like creature…and you came to me." Harry was amused, giving Draco a devious stare.

"Don't flatter yourself…" Draco objected, loving the sly look on his companion's face that he missed seeing.

"You do the same thing all the time…" Harry shrugged.

"Ouch, Potter. That was below the belt." Draco pretended to be wounded in the chest, staggering all over the floor, nearly running into their table.

Harry laughed, despite the murmured whispers and lowered stares from all over the room.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be uncomfortable for _you_ Draco?" Harry took a step towards him, poking Draco in the chest and chuckled.

Draco swiped at Harry's hand, removing it from himself. "I'm positive." He said firmly, looking straight into Harry's eyes.

"Well good." Harry said, bending down to retrieve some of his things that were scattered on the floor.

"So you'll do it?" Draco's face lit up, hopeful.

Harry glowered once again. "I'll think about it." He grabbed his mutilated cup and strode over to toss it into the wastebasket near the ice-covered exit door.

Malfoy's face fell again. "I suppose that's best anyway. After not being in touch with you for so long, I really shouldn't have expected a definite yes." He thrust his hands in his pockets, shuffling over to his belongings, which lay not too far from Harry's.

He watched Harry pick up his bag and scarf slowly, moving towards the way out.

"Call me later." Harry called loudly, drawing more doubtful glances. He threw his red and gold striped scarf over his shoulders. It looked striking against his brown jacket.

Without looking back he pushed the door open, almost shrinking back from the freezing cold glass. There was snow swirling in the air, a light breeze ruffling his hair, and Harry shivered, rubbing at his own shoulders.

The door swung open again and Harry glanced over his shoulder at Draco, in a great black coat, holding a briefcase in his hand.

  
The snow nearly matched his skin.

Harry toed the cement, and backed away from the curb as a taxi came rolling up to a screeching halt.

After he had entered the small cab, and told the driver where he wanted to go, it immediately took off, sliding on the ice hazardously. 

Not being able to fight the urge to look back, he did, glancing at the shivering, sneering, freezing Draco, bundled up in a thick warm coat, puffing and breathing into his almost blue hands. He might've even looked lost.

And that was how Harry left him; standing on the curb of a street Harry didn't know all too well, sniveling like a fish out of water. 

It must've been irony at work, because here he was, in his own apartment, his own bed, mind plagued and restless, replaying the incident over and over again.

_"I'm really desperate here Harry."_ Draco had said.  

_"…I told him I had the most stunningly attractive boyfriend in the world"_ He had said.

Harry rolled over in his sheets and blankets, shivering and wishing he had a little more money to pay the heating bill. He also wished he had had the sense to put on a shirt to sleep in, but no, he had feeblemindedly decided to flop into bed after his boiling hot shower, spent, beat and everything in between. Now it was too cold to get out of bed especially since his hair was still a bit wet, being so thick. 

With resentment he thought that he should get it cut, his curls waving their way around his ears, in his eyes, there was too much of it to see through anyway. It had been a while since he had been able to afford a good haircut; usually he just cut it himself. He hadn't had the time lately.

_Doing what? Nothing?_

Harry turned over, wrapping his body taco-like in his blankets, quivering a little, trying desperately to fall asleep and keep his mind from racing. He took a deep breath in and sighed. He frowned once more at his hair, which was not far in front of his eyes, trying hard to be as menacing as he possibly could. This lasted for a few silent seconds, the heartbeat of his wall clock and the heart in his chest echoing solely in his ears. He chuckled, heaving his body, smiling and curling his body very fetal-like into the warmth of the bed, only realizing what a ridiculous thing he was doing, glaring at his hair. He should be glowering at himself instead, or better yet, Draco.

…Draco

Harry couldn't tell if it was his mind, stomach, or heart that did the flip-flop he felt in the pit of his belly. But as he remembered the proposition he grew…well…squeamish. There were no other words to describe it. Well in fact there was anxious, uneasy, and uncomfortable. As well as a few other terms, but that was beside the point.

Harry wondered what _exactly_ posing as Draco's boyfriend would require, especially at a New Years-stay-up-late-drink-all-night-grind-yourself-into-your-dance-partner party. He immediately got an extremely vivid image of him and Draco, drunk and grinding. He shuddered in bed. An onlooker would've said it was from the cold, yet he was scared. Frightened out of his wits entirely.

He tried another mental picture of Draco's reaction when he said that he didn't want to go, which quickly was followed up by a vision of him alone and friendless in his small, quiet apartment. Complete with a red mark across his cheek where Draco slapped him or perhaps a split lip or some bruises decorating his body where Draco had kissed him…killed him. 

_When had kissing come into the picture?_

In the dark Harry's eyes glowed wide, surprised at himself. He gulped at his next thought. Would he have to _kiss_ Draco? He willed himself not to picture that, as well as omitting in thought that traditional ritual preformed at the stroke of midnight on every New Years Eve.

All together, he decided, this was treading in dangerous territory. There were going to be an extremely high amount of lines crossed between two friends in one evening, which would leave them feeling awkward around each other, and Harry didn't want that for their relationship.

He smiled, determinedly. That's exactly what he would tell Draco, and it seemed to make the most sense. Draco possibly would be mad at Harry for sometime, but he would eventually get over it. He heaved a sigh of relief, feeling tension lifted off of his broad shoulders.

"Though I could understand why he came to me…" Harry murmured to the darkness with a smirk on his face. "…After all, I _am_ pretty…pretty good looking." 

He laughed at how absurd he knew he was and rolled his head to rest in his hands and inhaled audibly, catching his breath.

"I'll just go to sleep now, and maybe by tomorrow Draco will have forgotten all about everything…" 

_Yeah just keep telling yourself that…._

With that final thought, Harry closed his eyes, uncaring of the troubles that would surely arise the next morning.


	2. Chapter 2: Holding It All Together

Chapter 2: Holding it All Together  
  
Warning: M/M  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"But Draco, you have to!" Whined the five foot seven busty blonde standing with her hands on her hips in front of him. It made it tremendously hard for Draco to say no. He became vaguely aware of the way her rosy lower lip stuck out when she was pouting.  
  
  
  
"I can't, my boyfriend cancelled on me..." He said trying his best to sound genuinely disappointed (which he only partly was).   
  
  
  
His hands worked furiously, eyes darting as he penned in checks on a requirement list he had received in the mail only a few days earlier.  
  
  
  
"You don't have to come with you're boyfriend." She cooed, watching as Draco's line of sight traveled to her swaying hips.   
  
  
  
"I, uh...really couldn't do that to him." Draco's eyes flitted back and forth from his paper work to the curved body of the woman tempting him. He was only glad there was a solid desk between the two of them, or only god knows what he would've done.  
  
"What's his name?" She asked innocently, drumming her fingers on the surface of her desk as she leaned as far forward as she could without being blatant, her top loosely drooping down.  
  
  
  
"Harry." Draco blurted and startled himself so greatly, jerked his pen and made a jagged lightning bolt on the paper in place of a check mark.  
  
  
  
"God damn it." He muttered, throwing the bottom drawer of his desk open with a slam, scrambling for some whiteout.  
  
  
  
"Harry's a pretty name. I bet he's really cute," she pondered, letting her eyes wander innocently.  
  
  
  
"He is. I mean...fuck it." Draco's pointer finger curled tightly around his pen, and rested his head in his hands, rubbing his face and squeezing his eyes shut.  
  
  
  
"You look stressed..." She expressed her concern by stepped around to the other side of the desk and placing her well manicured fingers lightly on his back and began rubbing soothingly. He groaned.  
  
  
  
"That feels...incredible." He sighed. "And you're right I am stressed." He ran an unsteady hand through his bangs.   
  
  
  
"That's why you need to come to this Draco. You don't have enough time to have fun and let loose and just...relax." She breathed into his ear, sending chills down his spine.  
  
  
  
"That is...also correct." He admitted in two separate gulps of air, while arching his back as her sharp nails traveled further down, ticking him all the way.  
  
  
  
"Then go. You're the manager Draco, it wouldn't be a party without you." She used her free hand to gently thread her fingers through the hairs behind his ears, extracting another shudder from him.  
  
  
  
"I guess you're right Ally..." He appeared deep in thought, chewing on the cap of his pen lightly. "I think I'll go." He quickly checked another box with a flourish.  
  
  
  
She beamed, her teeth so white nearly glowing.   
  
  
  
"I knew I could convince you." She laughed, and stood up straight, turning Draco around in his swiveling chair. Her nose practically collided with his and he gulped noticeably.  
  
  
  
"I'll see you there then, I presume?" Her voice was soft and rumbling, echoing deeply in her throat.   
  
  
  
"Yup." He swallowed again, eyes wide, hoping she would back her overly made-up face out of his. Her eye shadow was heavier on the right side.  
  
  
  
"Good." She smiled at him flirtatiously, and flipped her hair over her bare shoulder as she headed towards the door of his small, cluttered office.  
  
  
  
"Oh." She yelped, and nearly jumped when she bumped into the large body squeezing their way through the glass door.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me." She apologized, staring at a tall, tanned, muscular man whose amazingly green eyes were darting around the messy room and looking exceedingly confused.  
  
  
  
"I-uh." He tried to explain.   
  
  
  
"Are you looking for someone?" She asked, her eyebrow rose in question.  
  
  
  
"Well, yes, actually." His voice was deep and gentle, outwardly calming. "Do you know Draco...Malfoy?" He asked with vague tone of hope laden in his eminent stress.  
  
  
  
"Know him?" She asked, guffawing.  
  
  
  
"Oh, you don't? I'm terribly sorry; I must have the wrong place-" He made frantic gestures with his hands, running his fingers through his thick, tousled, black hair.  
  
  
  
"Calm down honey..." Ally stroked his forearm while chuckling fairly. "Draco...uh...Mr. Malfoy is sitting right behind that desk."  
  
  
  
She pointed, and Harry frowned at her blindingly pink nails, adjusting the glasses on his face so they weren't slipping down the bridge of his shapely nose.  
  
  
  
"Oh...oh." Harry sighed, head cast downward, utterly embarrassed at his lack of common sense. He failed to notice the bemused look on his friend's face, still clutching his writing utensil in one slender hand.  
  
  
  
"Harry." Draco muttered before he could stop himself. Only when he saw Ally's eyes widen and mouth drop did he realize his primary mistake.  
  
  
  
"Draco." Harry murmured seemingly affectionate, but mostly reassured. "I was running all over this place look-" He paused as Ally stomped her way around from his back to his front, giving him a speechless look.  
  
  
  
"You're Harry?" She asked, pointing her finger out at him, disbelieving.  
  
  
  
"I-I...am Harry, but how would you have heard of me?" If he were at all any more perplexed his eyes would've crossed.  
  
  
  
"You're Draco's boyfriend." She stated, an un-amused stare planted on her face as if she had just said the sky was blue and Harry had argued that no, it was bright green.  
  
  
  
"I'm n-" His mouth promptly shut as Draco gave him a hard, pleading stare. Harry merely scowled back at him, knowing he would regret this later on.  
  
  
  
"I am his...boyfriend." Harry tried his best to say that without choking on the words but he said them with surprising smoothness.  
  
  
  
"Oh." She said, still dumbfounded that Draco had been telling the truth all along, and his boyfriend was indeed stunning.  
  
  
  
"Oh, well, I'll just give you two some alone time." The smile plastered on her face was fake, both of the men could tell, but they were thankful that she didn't comment, only strode out the door in her garish pink high-heels.  
  
  
  
"So you'll do it?" Draco leapt from his desk the moment the door had clicked shut, his eyes were filled with excitement.  
  
  
  
"I guess I have to now." Harry shook his head, ashamed that the love and compassion for his friend would allow him to stoop to such a low.  
  
  
  
"Uhf." Harry winced as Draco grabbed him in an enormous, smothering bear hug. "Just remember," Harry teased. "You owe me one." He gave Draco a stern look, clearly serious.   
  
  
  
"I do, I do I do." Draco mumbled into Harry's cotton sweater.  
  
  
  
"...This really means something to you doesn't it?" He asked, realizing only after the words had escaped his mind to the surface that they could be interpreted quite differently than intended.  
  
  
  
"You know I have standards to obtain." Draco smirked from his position still buried in Harry's chest.  
  
  
  
"And by me being you're boyfriend, you're ego will be kept in tact, no bruises or cuts or lacerations?" Harry joked and chuckled as Draco nodded with a wide smile on his face.  
  
  
  
A silence passed and Draco rested his head on Harry's shoulders.  
  
  
  
"You can...stop hugging me now." Harry squirmed, disliking and liking the awkward warmth radiating from Draco, warmth from another human being he hadn't felt in years.   
  
  
  
"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Draco teased, gripping the sides of Harry's pullover unfalteringly.  
  
  
  
"Yes." He said without hesitation. Draco let out a bark of laughter and let go, stepping back to give Harry another one of his best smirks.  
  
  
  
"You better get used to it sweetie." Harry felt his body tense up and he almost shouted aloud with surprise of the audacity Draco held.  
  
  
  
"Only joking Potter, don't be such a tosser." Draco tossed his arm over the shoulder of Harry, enjoying the way Harry would tighten up under his touch.  
  
  
  
"You don't take compliments well..." Draco said thoughtfully and honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. Harry scoffed and Draco merely smirked back, opening his mouth to deliver another line.  
  
  
  
"Why don't you run along home to you're beloved apartment, and pick out something to wear for the party like a good little boyfriend."  
  
  
  
Harry growled at Draco's familiar banter, and darted under out of Draco's arm, and stepped away from his reach.  
  
  
  
"Or better yet, I could take you shopping." Draco leaned his body casually against his desk, paperwork having lain forgotten, and his fingers gripping the edge so tightly his fingers turned white.  
  
  
  
"Absolutely not." Harry frowned.  
  
  
  
"I'll be buying." Draco enticed him the best and just about only way he could: money.   
  
  
  
"...I'll think about it. But I absolutely refuse to be referred to as anything but Harry. No terms of endearment or any silly nick-name you can conjure up in that perverted mind of yours." His words were serious yet Draco laughed at them anyway, mocking Harry as accustomed.  
  
  
  
"I'm not fucking joking around Malfoy." Harry's brow furrowed with anger and frustration at being ridiculed so freely. "I'm the one doing you a favor so you bloody well be grateful." He pointed out.  
  
  
  
"I am, I am." Draco held up his hands to surrender. "Jesus Harry, you need to learn not to get so riled up from one inane little comment. Calm yourself down, take a deep breath, count to ten, whatever helps."  
  
  
  
"I don't usually get riled up, it's only around you." Harry flung the snide comment back at Draco, but it seemed to take no result.  
  
"Oh Harry, I feel the exact same way." Draco wailed in a high-pitched, female voice. He reached out a hand to grab at Harry's collar and pull him closer so that their bodies were nearly touching. Draco gave him a sly look.  
  
  
  
"God damn it, stop it!" Harry shouted, almost throwing Draco's pawing hands away from him.  
  
  
  
Draco only laughed, and took no heed to Harry's words. "Shh! People will hear you...and we wouldn't want that." He said his last word chuckling instead of seductively, as he meant it, ruining the comical effect it had on the situation. He pulled at Harry's sweater again, bumping their noses. Harry blushed, and tried once more to free himself from Draco's claws.  
  
  
  
"You are too cute." Draco said with a serious note, tilting his head as if to get a better look at his new 'boyfriend.'  
  
  
  
"I hope you didn't mean that." Harry said, pulling and adjusting his clothing again, the effect of Draco yanking on it so hard had twisted it around his torso.  
  
  
  
"Then forget I ever said it." He said offhandedly. "...And why did you wear that ridiculous sweater just to see me?"  
  
  
  
"I didn't know what else to wear..." Harry looked embarrassed.  
  
  
  
"Well it was a nice thought, but you look absurd."   
  
  
  
Draco began another fit of laughter at the fuming look on Harry's face.  
  
  
  
"You just love doing this to me don't you? Just aggravate me enough so I writhe only for you to laugh and take it all back."  
  
  
  
"Alright, you caught me. It is amusing to see you squirm in your pink panties." Draco said without even meaning to.  
  
  
  
Harry cocked his head with a grim, rebuking look in his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Sorry." Draco said, dropping his eyes, ashamed.  
  
  
  
"It's alright." Harry said low and quiet.  
  
  
  
"Why did you come here anyway?" It was Draco's turn to look bewildered, finally finding the unanswered question in his mind.  
  
  
  
Harry sighed. "I was going to," he started, knocking his knuckles on a book lying on top of Draco's desk, letting his gaze drop. "...Going to come tell you that I wasn't going to agree to it." Harry admitted, willing himself to look up into the hurt gray eyes of his friend.  
  
  
  
"...You weren't?" Draco's voice was unashamedly pained.  
  
  
  
"Draco you have to admit, there's just certain lines friends don't cross and I'd have to say this is one of those lines. In fact, it's not just a line it's a bloody border. Lined with barbed wire and patrolled by flashing police cars and signs hanging everywhere that read 'Caution: Cross at your own risk.' I just wasn't sure our friendship could handle that."  
  
  
  
Harry tried to gaze pleadingly into Draco eyes, only hoping he could understand where exactly he was coming from.  
  
  
  
"I know." Draco said. "I've thought about the same things as well. I guess my ego and impressing people was more important to me than our friendship." He admitted, feeling deeply repentant. "I'm sorry."  
  
  
  
Harry was quiet.  
  
  
  
"Let's just call this whole thing off...It's been too much trouble." Draco seemed content to stare at the stain on the floor. "I haven't gotten any sleep since I proposed the damn event."   
  
  
  
"Nor have I." Harry divulged, shrugged. "But-" he started to say, reaching a calloused hand out to touch Draco's lean shoulders lightly. "You don't have to call it off." He smiled a crooked smile at Draco, hand left to rest on his friend.  
  
  
  
"...Really? You think we can pull it off?" A smile of Draco's began to form, plans already cooking in his feral mind.  
  
  
  
"There's no way we couldn't pull this off." Harry assured him. "After all, who better than the two most clever, most dashing, most brainy men in all of England?"   
  
  
  
"I'd say you're right." Draco grinned, flashing his pallid teeth. "In this together?" He asked confidently, holding out his hand for his partner to shake.  
  
  
  
"Well...why not?" Harry said with a light, breathy, voice, amazed at himself. Yet the dazzling look on Draco's face once he agreed was worth the panic and previous sleepless night, and the trouble that would be had going through this.  
  
  
  
They shook hands, Harry blushing nervously, realizing what point they now stood at.  
  
  
  
"Harry?" Draco asked, letting his hand drop to his side, and took a step away from Harry.  
  
  
  
"Mhm?" He was only a little skeptical of what Draco's next comment would be.  
  
  
  
"It may just be me but you seem to be a bit uncomfortable about this, and well-" He was interrupted mid-sentence.  
  
  
  
"Well of course I'm going to be uncomfortable about it, we're going to have to touch and flirt and...god knows what else your mind will conjure up, and it's a definite big step from where we were and-" Harry seemed to have gone into panic mode.  
  
  
  
Draco's hand smothered Harry's words.  
  
  
  
"Exactly my point. Which is why people are going to be able to tell that we're not in a relationship by the way we act around each other, without say...a little practice date first. Or something..."   
  
  
  
Draco feebly looked for the right phrase, lifting his hand from his friend's mouth.  
  
  
  
"...Practice date?" Harry squirmed nervously, not liking the sound of this new development.  
  
  
  
"Well unless you got damn good acting skills, we need to get a bit more comfortable around each other...at least until we can come to the point of me touching you without you jumping forty feet in the air like some kind of anxious jackrabbit."   
  
  
  
Draco searched Harry's eyes for a response and understanding.  
  
  
  
"I understand, but..." Harry sighed, shrugging his shoulders.   
  
  
  
"But what?"  
  
  
  
"I'm really indecisive about this whole thing still." Harry's head bent in shame, wishing he could help his friend a tiny bit more than he was at the moment.  
  
  
  
"It's a lot for me to handle and maybe you could give me a day or two to get used to this new level we're on. Or at least, pretending to be on."  
  
  
  
Draco tried his hardest not to look disappointed. "Well you still have a week until the party, how about we meet for lunch one day and talk about it?"  
  
  
  
"Sounds great." Harry smiled, sagging his shoulders, feeling once again at ease. There was a moment of silence and suddenly Harry's mind clicked as he remembered what he had planned for that day.  
  
  
  
"May I leave? Or do we have something else to discuss, because I promised Ron I'd call him and Hermione-"  
  
  
  
Draco's mood immediately and obviously changed.  
  
  
  
"Oh yes. Ronald Weasley. Hermione Granger. How could I forget about the two most important people in your life?" Draco said bitterly and sarcastically, scowling as he dropped his gaze from Harry and slipped behind his desk once again and sat down.  
  
  
  
Harry glared at Draco's display of immaturity and predictable selfishness.  
  
  
  
"All you care about is you, don't you?" Harry asked with a teasing tone, yet intending it as a somber question.  
  
  
  
"Have you only now figured that out?" Draco rested his right hand against his face, knuckles pressed to his cheek while using his left to scribble on his now seemingly uninteresting paperwork.  
  
  
  
"Well of course not, but your demonstration of your immaturity says a lot sometimes." Harry shook his head disapprovingly.  
  
  
  
"Then why do you waste your valuable 'mature' time on me?" Draco asked scathingly.  
  
  
  
Harry paused.  
  
  
  
"I honestly have no idea." He said with a touch of a laugh in his tone, shaking his head.  
  
  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Draco hissed.  
  
  
  
"I am." Harry spat back, turning on his heel to walk out the glass office door.   
  
  
  
"Just in case you didn't realize, my fucking name is written on the door." Draco pointed and shouted. "Maybe if you use your god damn eyes next time you might not get so lost."  
  
  
  
The door slammed and Harry was gone.  
  
  
  
Draco groaned and buried his head in his folded arms on his desk.  
  
  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
  
  
The wind was once again whipping at his face with a bruising force, teeth chattering as Harry once again wished for something as trivial as a car. Nothing fancy, sporty, or expensive. Just as long as it ran, perhaps had a radio, a heater and windows that would roll down for the summertime.  
  
  
  
He grimaced as the flurries of snow started to drift through the air, wrapping him in a hazy, bitterly cold environment. It didn't help his disposition at all that he just had a fairly minor fight with one of his closest friends, Draco Malfoy. Then again their fights were so typical it was amazing that they even bothered to acknowledge them as significant anymore.  
  
  
  
But their last fight was the worst. The fight that drove them so separate that they refused to speak to one another for nearly two years. Harry remembered struggling most those years. He had almost lost his apartment, the last solid thing he held in his life. Of course he always had the customary support from Hermione and the entire Weasley family, but it wasn't completely the same without the quirky, snarky, mess of Draco Malfoy filling in the spots that needed to be filled in Harry's life.  
  
  
  
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, needing the warmth seeing as his tattered gloves were beginning to fray from overuse.   
  
  
  
You might say Harry had an epiphany then and there, reflecting on his relationships and the embarrassing condition of his possessions and the basic things he even didn't have.   
  
  
  
He didn't have a job, he didn't have a car, he didn't have a girlfriend (not failing to forget as of late he did have a boyfriend), and he didn't even own a decent, hole-less pair of gloves. He grumbled as he stepped off of the sidewalk on to the paved road, half expecting a car to zoom by and barely miss him, as goes the typical "I need to change my life-style and start valuing things more" type of realization.  
  
  
  
But the car never came, and Harry stepped, left foot first, unto the other end of the walkway, unscathed. He was a little disappointed.  
  
  
  
As if mesmerized, he turned at the according street corners he was suppose to, feeling the rush and hearing the purrs of the engines passing by him, uncaring. You might say that was always his problem. Life passed him by and he even watched it with his own two eyes. Perhaps his glasses had fogged up, and sooner than he realized his friends were getting married, getting college degrees, getting jobs, having a stable, enjoyable life.  
  
  
  
Maybe...  
  
Without Draco, it was as if he had lost two years of his life. Pile that on top of the years of his life he selectively chose to lose. The years of feeling the grief and pain over the loss of his long time friend Cedric Diggory, one of the finer friends that Harry ever had.  
  
  
  
But there are times to think these kinds of events over and there are times for other things. And now was a time to focus on how to get home in time for Ron's phone call.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: This is a slow going project; I just need a second opinion on the time and effort I'm putting into this. I appreciate comments. ^_^ 


	3. Chapter 3: Holding It All Together

Chapter 3: Holding It All Together  
  
Warning: M/M  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it : )  
  
He failed, which really wasn't a surprise to him seeing as it was concordant with his behavior recently. He also didn't own an answering machine so Ron hadn't left a message; the phone merely beeped reminding him that he was too late to answer the call, no matter who it may have been.  
  
He picked up the receiver in one hand while removing his winter coat and throwing it to the floor with customary organizational skills.  
  
He dialed the numbers by heart, knowing the reason for the call and also hoping Ron and Hermione would forget the previous tiff they had and remembering that Harry classified in the category of a 'Friend in (desperate) need.'  
  
The dial tone sounded three times before...  
  
"Hullo?" Came the deep, mature voice of his long-time friend Ron Weasley.  
  
"It's Harry," were the simple words spoken into the phone.  
  
"Oh." He could've sworn Ron sounded a bit disappointed. "Well Hermione and I will meet you at Draco's café to discuss this months nit-picks. Unless you just want us to come over to your place..."   
  
Ron trailed off, and Harry knew that Ron did not want to even risk the chance of encountering his nemesis (had they been categorized into roles). Draco and Ron had been at each other even the first time they had met (through Harry) and have never given up on their rivalry since.  
  
"My place is O.k." Harry spoke calmly yet was secretly dreading what would follow, and could now almost hear the scolding remarks coming from Hermione.  
  
"Harry you need to get your life into a rhythm...Get a girlfriend, a job, anything to hold yourself together"  
  
The phone was hung up with a smart click, and Harry was left fifteen minutes for him to worry over the situation at hand. Would Ron and Hermione reject him, leaving him to his own devices this month or lend him a helping hand.  
  
Once again.  
  
He sighed, rubbing his face with his still gloved hands, knocking his glasses askew and flopped down in the nearest armchair, waiting for his friends to arrive. He glared as he stared and picked at the tears in his gloves, suddenly pulling them off and throwing them fiercely on top of his jacket.  
  
"Fucking gloves..." He muttered.  
  
They were old gloves that barely fit anymore, littered with rips and holes, yet Harry held on to them. Sure he could always go to the store and buy a $2.50 pair of gloves, he at least had that much spare change.   
  
But these gloves were a gift given to him when he was 16 years old, from his godfather Sirius. It hurt to think back on it, his weary face full of stubble grinning at him as Harry opened his Christmas presents.  
  
"This winter is rumored to be the coldest yet Harry!" His toothy smile was a little frightening, his teeth yellowing, cheekbones hollow with age.  
  
"Thanks Sirius." Harry said weakly, looking at the gloves with disappointment.  
  
It was only a year later that Sirius had passed away; prison had sucked the life right out of him, as well as the will to continue on.  
  
Sirius was the only living relative Harry had left that last Christmas day spent at the Weasley's. It was agonizing to know that at a mere 16 years old Harry was the only one left.  
  
He delicately picked them up from the floor, bending his back over as far as he could without straining the sensitive muscles.  
  
He held them up eye-level, studying them.  
  
"I think these gloves have seen their last days." Harry said grimly to himself, getting out of his chair to throw them away.  
  
It was time for him to let go of the memory of his dead godfather he had tried to hold on to so tightly.  
  
There was a loud thunk as they hit the bottom of his tin wastebasket. The sight of the pathetic gloves curled together touching each other made Harry's stomach turn.   
  
Harry's insides flipped again, and he nearly jumped as the bell rang loud and shrill.  
  
Harry fidgeted with the collar of his sweater as he strode back towards the entrance of his apartment.  
  
He unlocked the chain latch with a smart click, and moved to open the door. His hand hovered over the doorknob as he paused to take a deep breath and plaster a smile on his face.  
  
He grasped the doorknob snugly and swung the door open.  
  
"Hey Ro-." He stopped, alarmed.  
  
Instead of the blazing red hair and freckled face he expected to see, in his place stood a pale blonde-haired man he immediately recognized.  
  
"Draco, what are you doing here?"   
  
His surprised faded and in its place filled anger, and he moved to close the door. Draco quickly grabbed the edge of the door with his hand.  
  
"Harry don't shut the door on me." His voice calm and mellow, almost pleading.  
  
"Give me one good reason." Harry snarled. "I'm expecting important guests soon so if you could please...Guh." He grunted, struggling with the door, pulling on it with all his strength.  
  
The door swung back and forth with the weight of the two men.  
  
"I know you're mad at me right now, I know it's too soon to come see you after our fight but I need a place to...uff...get...away."   
  
He could feel and hear the door creak, almost in pain.  
  
Harry pulled even harder, lifting his left leg to the doorframe for leverage.  
  
"You have your own damn house, you don't have to bother...me."   
  
With one last strong heave he slammed the door shut, twisting the lock quickly before Draco could grab a hold of the knob again.  
  
He turned around, leaning heavily against his door and sliding down to a sitting position, breathing deeply chest heaving up and down.  
  
"Harry." Came the nearly muffled cry.  
  
"Go find a fucking Motel 6." Harry called back as loud as he could.  
  
Silence greeted him.   
  
"Finally." He muttered, standing back up, feeling a disheveled, stressed and panicked. Running his right hand through his tangled black hair, he pressed his left ear firmly to the door, making sure Draco wasn't lurking around anywhere outside still.  
  
"What have I gotten myself into?" Harry moaned, this time burying both hands in the mess he called hair.  
  
After recollecting himself he walked into what he called his kitchen, yet it was pretty much in the same room as the living room. Which was also pretty much the same room as the family room. Which was just barely connected to his bedroom and bathroom.  
  
He moved towards the kitchen table, no longer the white color it used to be. His mouth curled at the edges as he grimaced at the pile of bills, taxes, and other expenses Harry had managed to collect. He didn't even have a shred of independence in him, only relied on other people to take care of him and the money he owed. This was the fourth time Harry had to get Ron and Hermione to help him out in the cash department, and by now it had become somewhat ritualistic.  
  
He had the overcoming urge to pick up each and every envelope, each statement, and tear it in half and set the pieces on fire. The thought made him smile sadistically.  
  
  
  
Unexpectedly, the harsh sound of a chair scraping on his tiled floor startled him out of his daydreaming. He looked up toward the guilty face of Draco, holding on to the chair he had recently run into.  
  
"How did you get in here?!?" Harry shrieked, eyebrows furrowing with frustration.   
  
He knew that there wasn't a legitimate reason for him being so angry with Draco. In fact he wasn't very upset, he merely wasn't in the mood to deal with Draco and his flirting and his haughty, joking remarks. Every time he saw Draco he was reminded of their agreement and it make him sick and queasy.   
  
"You forgot you gave me an extra key about a year ago..." Draco said, still with a look of uncertainty on his face.  
  
"Then why didn't you just come in earlier?" Harry asked, closing his eyes, feeling incredibly overwhelmed.   
  
"I figured I would knock, give it a try." Draco stated, scratching the back of his neck. He shrugged off one sleeve of his coat.   
  
"Can I stay?" He gently and cautiously asked, brushing off the other side of his coat, letting it fall on the dirty table.  
  
"Why?" Harry's throaty voice nearly echoed in his bare apartment. "Why, why, why did you have to come here? Here!"   
  
Harry nearly threw himself on his plastic, foldable dinner chairs.   
  
"Ally's been calling me non-stop on my home phone, cell, work number." Draco sighed, exasperated. "Apparently she heard us fighting before you left, and wanted to consol me or something utterly ridiculous like that."   
  
Harry remained silent.  
  
"I'm sorry I bothered you but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go that she wouldn't find me." Draco held an unsure smile.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Harry?" Draco's voice was tentative, he lifted himself on his toes to try and get a peak at the expression on Harry's bent-over head.  
  
"Fine." Harry looked up and sighed. "Fine you can stay here but you just have to hide or some-"  
  
He was abruptly cut off as they both heard a rattling outside Harry's door.  
  
"Ron!" Harry whispered in a panic. He frantically leapt out of his chair and grabbed Draco firmly, dragging him into his bedroom.  
  
"Where to hide, where to hide-" Harry muttered, frenzied, still keeping a tight grip on Draco.  
  
"Harry, what in the world are you doing? Stop pinching me that hurts!" Draco yelped as he was heaved through Harry's room.  
  
He heard the familiar squeak of the door opening.  
  
"Harry mate?" Came a too-close voice from the other room.   
  
"Oh no, what's Ron going to think when he finds- Ah ha!"   
  
Harry quickly grasped Draco and opened his closet door in a flourish that made a loud thud as the door hit the wall.  
  
"Shit!" He whispered.  
  
"Harry, what's all that racket?" Harry recognized the feminine voice of Hermione.  
  
"N-Nothing!" He called back, trying his hardest to shove Draco into his already cluttered closet.  
  
"Potter, are you mad?" Draco indignantly shouted, and grabbed on to the sides of the closet, making sure that he didn't get shoved in.  
  
"Was that Draco?" The question hung in the air as Harry heard his friend's footsteps quickly approaching.  
  
Finally Draco's thin form snugly slid in between some of Harry's piled clothes and a shelf. Panting like a dog, Harry slammed the door shut, covering up Draco's yell of protest under the smack of the door.  
  
Just as this was happening Ron and Hermione burst through Harry's door, immensely curious as to what exactly Harry was doing in his bedroom.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione yelled.  
  
He turned around so swiftly he hit his hand on the closed doors of his closet with a sickening slap.   
  
Harry screamed in pain, and leaned back against the closet to rub his stinging knuckles.  
  
On the other side of the door Draco banged loudly, suddenly finding himself afraid of the dark. The closet doors moved with every hit, and would've swung open had Harry not been resting on it.  
  
"What in the world is going on?!?" Hermione questioned. Harry looked back and forth at the perplexed faces of his friends.  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He said in a voice devoid of breath, chest heaving up and down. He kept his hands firmly on the doors so they wouldn't fly open, the closet still shuddering.  
  
"Harry..."  
  
Harry's breathing became hitched, his lungs felt like they were going to burst. He began to feel lightheaded and dizzy and the room seemed like it was spinning.   
  
The only thing holding him up was the closet he was leaning on, his palms dug into the grainy wood surface as if his very life depended on it. The sweat beading on his hands and the blood dripping over his knuckles loosened his grip.  
  
He finally crashed to the floor, seeing nothing but black, unaware of the cries of his friends and their concerned touches.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The smell of bagels and muffins enticed Harry's senses oh-so intensely. He couldn't wait to go home and cook (and eat) dinner.   
  
He wrapped the next order with the wax paper stacked next to him squeezing it carefully around the bread, nestling it like a blanket.   
  
He was going to miss this. No, not the simplicity of rolling sandwiches and packing them into people's lunches, but waking up in the morning and having somewhere to go. That was the thing he was going to miss.  
  
"'Ey Harry!" Called the familiar voice of his co-worker Travis. "About 10 minutes until we close up and Draco wants to see you after closing. Something about closing your job."  
  
"Alright. Thanks Travs." Harry called back, his emotions doing another twist. He always got a little light-headed and anxious when Draco was spoken of. He ran his fingers along his lips.   
  
He couldn't get that damn memory out of his head.  
  
Harry sighed again, finishing up the sandwich and placing it in the paper bag ready for pick up. Another thing he couldn't stop thinking about was Laurie. It was too soon to let go of her; it was too soon to forget about the aching hole in him now that she was gone. But it was his fault she was gone, he practically drove her away himself. He spent too much time with Draco and it had finally caught up with him.   
  
She deserved better anyway.  
  
He handed the bag to his assistant. "That's the last one." She said with a smile. "Finally," She stretched her arms. "We get to go home."  
  
"Yeah." Harry murmured still feeling the effects of the long day he had.   
  
He reached behind his back, twisting his neck so he could see as he untied his white apron. After removing it, he held it up to his face for inspection. With a reluctant, longing sigh he removed the pin containing his nametag "HARRY" on the face of it.  
  
"See you tomorrow Harry." The woman called, picking up her purse from the table next to him.  
  
"Yeah..." Harry said softly. "Tomorrow."  
  
He set the now identity-less apron down, neatly folded on a nearby station. He wouldn't need it anymore; the next employee Draco hired would be using it.  
  
He took a deep breath, smoothed out his shirt and went to the back, where Draco's office was.   
  
It was a little more than terrifying, standing outside that door. After the last time he had seen Draco, he tried as hard as possible never to have to see him again. Never to have to look upon the confident smirk he wore, the impeccable, flattering way he dressed, or the funny way he stammered when drunk.   
  
It was the fact that he couldn't help replaying the whole situation in his head every time he thought of him or looked at him. As of late he had only caught fleeting glances of Draco because he had done everything in his power to avoid him.   
  
And yet...  
  
He ran his fingers over his lips again. There was some type of raw emotion hidden under all of the many other distraught, confused ones tangled in his head already.   
  
He approached the door, took another breath and closed his eyes.  
  
This is it Harry. Just get through this and you won't have to see him again.  
  
Harry opened the door as slowly as he could, delaying, drawing out the moment.  
  
"You wanted to see me Mr. Malfoy." He said as purely professional as he could. He tried to make it seen like their relationship was platonic, that they had never spent many afternoons and evenings laughing until all hours, never shared private jokes with each other, never wrestled with each other on the grass like schoolboys.   
  
"You don't have to look at the ground when speaking to me." Draco grumbled, nearly startling Harry.   
  
It had been nearly 3 or was it 4 days that he hadn't spoken to Draco. The sound of his voice was unfamiliar to Harry.  
  
"I do." Harry replied defiantly, making a point to sound devoid of emotion, which was the entire opposite of the turmoil presently going on inside him.  
  
Draco chose to ignore this comment, and pushed down harder on his pen as he scribbled out the form that officially let Harry go.  
  
"You know, you don't have to quit." He said, rather offhandedly, scribbling his signature at the bottom in a flourish that could only be done so gracefully by Draco.  
  
"I do." Harry repeated, touching the paper with his fingertips and sliding it around so it faced him. Their hands bumped as Draco handed over the pen and Harry almost jumped a foot in the air. His face began growing red.  
  
"You don't." Draco said more firmly than he had been earlier, attempting to make eye contact between them. "Honestly."   
  
"Draco you don't understand." Harry stated simply as he signed the form.  
  
"Harry why can't you just forget about it and move on? Why is this bothering you so much?" He cried, frustrated and unafraid to show it.  
  
"Forget about it?" Harry said with a laugh, running shaking fingers through his hair. "How can I forget about it? It's not something you easily forgive someone for." He picked up the paper from Draco's desk; putting it in a folder that Draco had supplied him with.  
  
"Forgive?!?" Draco guffawed. "Seeing how it's slipped your mind it takes two Harry, to make that kind of mistake."  
  
Harry slipped the folder under his arm casually.  
  
"We've had this discussion before Draco." He shrugged and turned around. "There's nothing more to it."  
  
Draco stood up immediately, catching Harry's arm before he could move towards the door.  
  
"I've heard it too many times Potter. You say that I initiated everything, which is a load of bullshit. You're just deluding yourself."  
  
"Deluding myself?!?" Harry exclaimed, glaring at Draco.  
  
"Yes, deluding yourself. Anyway even if I had initiated everything you weren't exactly stopping it."  
  
Harry fell silent, his shoulders hung, knowing that Draco was right.  
  
"Not until she came in, did you protest, claiming that I had drugged you or something. Not that you weren't already drunk out of your mind." Draco continued with a steady, unreadable face.  
  
"You better well bloody shut up Malfoy, don't talk about her like you actually even knew what was going on between us." Harry ripped his arm away from Draco's vice grip.  
  
"How could I forget what was going on between you two, you couldn't stop talking about her. Every time I was with you, you bloody wouldn't shut up about it." He countered.  
  
"That's because I loved her!" Harry screamed back.  
  
"Then why did you go and do a stupid thing like kiss me?" Draco shouted in retaliation, leaving the awkward question hanging.  
  
"I didn't." Harry snarled, letting their furious eyes meet.  
  
"Well it's understandable if you didn't remember everything as clearly as me, you were twice as drunk as I was. It's like you have no self control at all." He said coldly, feeling once again superior to his comrade.   
  
"I have a perfect amount of self control. I just wasn't thinking straight that night, and that's all there was to it." Harry, lingering their eye contact turned around.  
  
"You're just scared Harry." Draco called callously after his retreating form.  
  
"You need to stop pretending something never happened between us, stop pretending that you're not afraid of this, stop pretending that you're brave!" Draco growled viciously.  
  
Harry kept moving. Draco followed him out the door, unfinished.  
  
"You're pretending that girl actually meant something to you, pretending that I was the one that lost her for you, but it was you Harry. It was your own fucking fault!"   
  
Draco yelled as loud as he could, keeping one hand on his ajar door.  
  
"Don't even fucking come back here!!!" His voice grew hoarse in Harry's ears with the amount of force put behind it.  
  
As his strides spend up to keep in time with his trembling heartbeat Harry grew light-headed. He was so confused. He could feel a burning pain behind his chest, aching the same way it did when he saw Laurie's horrified face when she walked in on the pair.  
  
The back of his eyes prick as he began to wheeze, panting as hard as he could feeling more and more dread seem into him by the second.  
  
It was going to be a long walk home tonight  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
A/N: Just in case you missed it that was a flashback. Only a part of the HiaT background you all have been clawing your way to get at ;)  
  
Thanks for all the positive comments, and yes, I'm getting to all the background information, you gotta be patient! It's on the 3rd chapter!  
  
~Tink  
  
P.S.  
  
There's going to be a delay on the next chapter because I'm going to Dallas this Thursday. I'll finish it as soon as I can  
  
~Tink 


End file.
